Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan said Thursday evening that the agency’s officers “acted appropriately” when dealing with a suspect whose car struck a security barrier near the White House earlier in the day.

“This incident is under investigation, but at this point an unauthorized vehicle attempted to gain access at a very outer perimeter checkpoint, Donovan said. “I want to stress that. This was an outer perimeter checkpoint of the White House. Beyond that checkpoint, there were multiple other checkpoints that someone would have to go through, but there is this unauthorized vehicle approached the checkpoint, our officers acted appropriately. The vehicle then fled and in fleeing struck one of our officers as it departed that initial scene.”

Officials at the press conference also said the suspect was killed and that they do not believe the incident was connected to terrorism. Two law enforcement officers were injured, one from the Secret Service and the other from the U.S. Capitol Police.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hunter Walker is a national affairs reporter for TPM. He came to the site in 2013 from the New York Observer. He has also written for New York Magazine, Gawker, the Village Voice, Forbes, The Daily, and Deadspin. He can be reached at hunter@talkingpointsmemo.com